It has been revealed that Manchester United made a substantial offer to sign Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly when Jose Mourinho was manager.
Koulibaly has been linked with a move to to Old Trafford for a number of years after establishing himself as one Europe’s elite defenders in his six-year spell in Naples.
As reported by Manchester Evening News, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer regards the Senegalese international as one of the best centre-backs in world football.
However, he has not been made a key target by the Norwegian with other targets such as Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish and Borussia Dortmund starlet Jadon Sancho prioritised.
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United’s interest in Koulibaly has been long-standing and reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano told the United Stand (via Daily Star) in a brilliant wide-ranging interview that United had a bid rejected for defender two years ago.
This was the period when Jose Mourinho was desperately scouring the market hoping for a centre-back signing.
United’s defence under Solskjaer has improved vastly since 2018 with newly-instated captain and leader Harry Maguire and right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka making huge differences at the back.
Solskjaer’s men conceded just two goals in their unbeaten run of 11 games before the coronavirus pandemic.
